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A small book, a great mountain, slowly unfolding sunrise, then a powerful storm.
Endless unique rock, many little stones, very strong winds, then some gentle rain.
An old book passed forward, now read upon a mountain seemingly on fire, gifting images of spirit, and lingering alpenglow.
A very old weathered tome, with an aged character and cover of leather, discovering the experience of losing oneself in its musings, now finding even more to ponder , then to write about too...
A small book, a great mountain, a brilliant sunset, and then such calm.
All reflecting the spirit of our adventures, and now of such lasting precious memories as well..... DSD
Dedicated this adventure day to all of you hardy spirits who are 'Adventuring For Another Reason' .
"The acid test of a true adventurer, if presented with certain anonymity, is whether each of us would still have made the journey beyond the last blue mountain..." M. Clark
Over these many years, and every season for certain, I am asked why undertake this Summit Stone endeavour in an anonymous way. Remaining anonymous, simply being nameless, was actually first encouraged by a close mentor of mine way back when. It was during those younger heady years, full of that vigour, energy, and endless goals. We talked about, then I long pondered, the differences between pride in our accomplishments, and the hubris that can distract us from their true meanings... As my intentions within this whole journey evolved, it became more clear as well that the essential elemental nature of all of this could be better expressed by remaining unknown. Then the focus shifts more clearly to other meanings, other important adventure themes, more significant expressions - like those represented in the "Giving Back & Passing Forward" section link right here...
The ancient Greeks understood the depths of 'Anonumos', as they called these paths and efforts. They mused endlessly about the mystery to be found therein by each and every spirit who wanders. Being 'Anonumos' also very much meant leaving the ego by the wayside, letting go of that kind of recognition, so something else may be discovered... I think it is this kind of mystery that calls out to each of us. The unknowns of the wild places inherently do this. So if you discover a painted touchstone up within a summit cairn and register, placed there by an unknown someone, then just maybe, that tiny bit of extra mystery might spark a little interest as well. In why someone would do this, and what that might mean for you, and how this could express itself in any way you choose to give back and pass forward yourself...
Then such anonymity invites another kind of awareness. Many others, in their own ways, have also enjoyed exactly this kind of experience by giving something, anything, anonymously. This kind of expression then is not really about the giver, nor even only about the gift, but moreso about the connections that grow for all of those involved. There is much to be pondered about giving anonymously...
Vìktor Frankl wrote: ``We should not, then, be hesitant about challenging man with a potential meaning for him to fulfill``.
Maybe it`s kind of like heading out on a solo sea kayak trip, or as potently out upon a solo mountain climb. Then it is only truly about you and the mountain, you and the sea, within the joy of those moments. Other than for safety, no one even knows you have been there; only you know what those efforts meant, and for how each of us then creates our own meaning within such experience.
Frankl also wrote: ``What he needs is... the call of a potential meaning to be fulfilled by him``.
An anonymous gesture is more about doing something for its own sake, not being influenced by any external outcomes or expectations, but more allowing the intrinsic value, purpose, and meaning of it all to emerge. If that is what is then naturally revealed, then it is all good and everyone can simply smile..... DSD
My sincere gratitude for sharing your images with us all my Friends.
"There are many truths of which the full meaning cannot be realized until personal experience has brought it home...". John Stuart Mill
Dedicated this adventure day to all those 'Partners In Placing' whom have shared in this little touchstone endeavour. My sincere gratitude for passing forward some smiles..... DSD
Thank you Jeff, for your recent Post, and the image of yours above.
There is so much adventure potential in keeping our perceptions as open minded as the terrain we cross. There is as much potential too in developing sustained ways to ponder about the possibilities out there. Adventurers are no different it seems in how we may limit ourselves to only certain trails, routes, or experiences, by how we see things and frame things in our minds. I've written here before about my Outward Bound experiences and how they revealed to us there is so much more within us than we may ever first realize...
Often that Outward Bound catalyst came from within the experiences themselves, yet just as many times from the quiet words of wisdom our Leaders shared with us each time out. One adventure concept of theirs was the "What If's", and is one that resonated with me back then and still echoes out strongly to this very day. "What If", they quietly asked at the end of our climbs and trails, then later at the end of our course, what if instead of this being an ending, you are really just getting going... What if, rather than this experience being over, this is really only a beginning for you...
What if too, they asked, that any setbacks are really steps in the direction of fulfilling your adventure dreams. What if, they inquired, that the hard earned lessons, the trials and adversity - are all really part of what we are seeking anyway. What if, they pondered, that regardless of weather, injury, age, or infirmity, we are just starting out upon other ways of wandering further, farther, higher, and even more inward...
Such was the trail of perception that was revealed way back then to me, and still is as well after so many years of journeys out there. All along the way, time and time again, their subtle reminder would echo once more about possibility and potential, and about the potency and power of 'What If's'..... DSD
My appreciation for sharing your images my Friends within this dedication this season. There is a point on the trail I will be crossing soon where I will be watching the new sunrise and musing once more about such 'What If's'.......
"Out in the woods, or in the mountains... where times are slow paced and the people sensitive to nature, there is the possibility of knowing the deep and the profound..." Deng Ming-Dao
Let's take a quiet moment.... DSD
Dedicated this adventure day to Chantal & Mike and all our fellow adventurers over at 'Climb For Change'
Some may see these times as epic, others as frightful, even as such poor weather that our adventures would surely be ruined. Safety is primary, adjusting always necessary, and then we are gifted with something more... When we are stormbound we slowly learn that this can also be a mystical and magical time...
I remember... Deep winter camping among the frozen lakes and dark forests of the north during a wild winter storm. I wondered if the wind could get any worse and if the tent would truly last. A long night it was. But the crisp morning vistas were so very beautiful. A calm after the storm as can only be found so far north among forests now blanketed in perfect white snow and frosts...
I remember... Days out on the Continental Divide, and rain that was wind driven so hard it seeped through our tent walls. Ominous dark clouds that rumbled and spoke of the power of the sky. The anxiety over potential lightning made those stormy moments last a very long time. Yet the rainbows after were like none we had ever seen. Rainbow upon rainbow, caressing almost every summit into the distance...
I remember a difficult weekend of climbing, then a raging river raft the very next day, the white water moving at a speed unexpected. A good thing as an even bigger storm was coming. When later in our tent at a higher elevation, and even when clearly safe, the rolling clouds, angry winds, pounding rain, and the grumbling of thunder felt so very, very close. We were bound by that storm for many hours and then were greeted by peaks painted so beautifully by ice and sleet...
I remember... Sea kayaking among our west coast islands just after a passing gale that beached everyone. The sun may have been out but the waves were still rocking and bucking like none I'd ever experienced, and we just had to try and ride them out...
Let's take a moment my Friends, to pause, and rest, and reflect over the immensity of nature and the power within the elements you have successfully navigated out there before... There is an energy that may be found in dealing with our stormbound experiences, that we may draw upon when needed during other such trials... I am so looking forward to being stormbound yet again out among our wild places..... DSD
My appreciation dear fellow wanderers for sharing these images with us.
"Really, the fundamental, ultimate mystery - the only thing you need to know to understand the deepest metaphysical secrets - is this: that for every outside there is an inside, and for every inside there is an outside, and although they are different, they go together...". Alan Watts
Time to wander, and thus to ponder, all the wonderful ways, they go together... DSD
"Time is the wisest Counsellor of all..." Pericles
"Time is the coin of your life...". Sandburg
"Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in...". Thoreau
"Time is the most paradoxical of things... Time, the cradle of hope...". Colton
Time for adventurers, is an ephemeral thing. We seek the timeless flow of it all out there, while knowing we are really the timekeepers ourselves... Each journey is an era, each mountain a thing immemorial, every river and coastline a passage, all canyons a history. So our association with what we call hours, days, and seasons - evolves, or more clearly distills, into moments. Such as those I have shared in upon an elusive westerly summit near here. My high place wanderings there began when I was quite young, unfolded over the years, and now in a time honoured way, I return there each season still. The course of all these experiences, intervals of adventure and for introspection, has invited many perspectives of how we each may ponder time... I'm sure that is why, being more grey of hair and long existence, that I so very much enjoy certain Time Lapse adventure creations shared with all of us over the Internet. Many selected ones reflect so many wild places and journeys, in unique time lapsed passages, where the movement of the moments fill us with awe and inspiration... We do have the time of our lives out adventuring, and then viewing these Time Lapse wonders becomes a reflection too of our Time Lapse selves... A YouTube search by adventure topics, another search on The Adventure Blog by Kraig, or National Geographic Adventure, among other such esteemed sites will gift you with many remarkable experiential examples of these. Call them what we will, refer to time as we may - chronologies of movement, a time warped stillness to ponder, visual retrospectives of how we wander, antiquities or our own elapsed experiences - these are timely wonders of perception for time itself and our adventures. So, for the time being, turn the volume way up, enjoy these Time Lapse wonders my Friends, so they then inspire you to return soon to your own wild place adventures..... DSD
"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in...". John Muir
Never, ever, only it is for we adventurers..... DSD
